Outpatient Pulmonary Services Available Beginning November 2

8/19/15

On November 2, Dr. William Waltner will begin seeing outpatients with pulmonary (lung) conditions at KVH Hospital. This expansion of services will improve local access to specialty care for adult and pediatric patients with conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), recurring pneumonia, or chronic bronchitis.

Dr. Waltner is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Pediatrics. He has worked at Kittitas Valley Healthcare as a hospitalist since 2008. Hospitalists are healthcare providers who specialize in caring for hospitalized patients.

Dr. Waltner will continue to work as a hospitalist and see patients in the hospital setting as needed, but the majority of his work will shift towards outpatient services, where he has accepted a position as the Medical Director for the Cardiopulmonary Services Department at KVH Hospital.

“I am pleased to be adding these additional responsibilities to my role at KVH,” said Dr. William Waltner.

In addition to seeing patients in the outpatient setting, Dr. Waltner will continue to perform outpatient procedures such as bronchoscopies and thoracenteses to obtain lung tissue or fluid samples for diagnostic testing.

“In a strict hospitalist role, the true breadth and depth of Dr. Waltner’s training and experience were not being utilized,” according to Dr. Don Solberg, Chief Medical Officer at KVH. “We are pleased that the services he is capable of providing will now be available to all Kittitas County patients.”

As with most specialty care, patients will require a referral from their primary care provider to make an appointment with Dr. Waltner.